Caring for Dogs, Cats, & Pocket Pets

Yes, if you have a dog, cat, or furry four-legged pocket pet you've come to the right place for your pet's veterinary needs. Yes, we practice progressive medicine in an award winning facility. Yes, we do all sorts of surgeries, including spays, neuters, declaws, and even orthopedics. But we believe you are looking for "more than medicine".

You want to know the answers to such questions as:

Why is my pet sick and what can I do to prevent it in the future?

What food and how much to feed?

Is it a medical problem or a behavior issue?

How can I prevent fleas, worms, and other parasites from attacking my pet (and my family)?

We can help you with these and other questions you may have so "we", you and us, can help your pet live a healthier, happier, longer life.

If you live in Middleburg Heights or anywhere in Southwest Greater Cleveland, then you have picked the perfect site to find a veterinarian. Dr Deborah Fegan, Dr. Nora Zabik, and Dr. Jon Souders are licensed veterinarians, treating all types of pets and animals. Your pet's health and well being is very important to us and we will take every step to give your pet the best possible care.

Big Creek Pet Hospital is a full service animal hospital and will take both emergency cases as well as less urgent medical, surgical, and dental issues. Doctors Fegan, Zabik, and Souders are experienced in all types of conditions and treatments. Beyond first rate pet care, we make our clinic comfortable, kid-friendly, and a very calm environment so your pet can relax in the waiting room and look forward to meeting his or her own veterinarian.

We have a number of resources for you to learn about how to take better care of your pets. Browse around and look at our articles and pet videos. If you want to ask a question call (440) 234-5831 or email us and we'll promptly get back to you. Our Greater Cleveland veterinary hospital is conveniently located at the intersection of Bagley Rd. and I-71, our Olmsted location is conveniently located in the Stearns-Bagley Plaza and easily accessible to Olmsted, North Ridgeville, and the surrounding communities and you can find directions on our Locations page. You can also subscribe to our newsletter which is created especially for Greater Cleveland pet owners. In between your veterinary visits, your pet will benefit from you reading these free informative articles.

At Big Creek Pet Hospital, we treat your pets like the valued family members they are.

Dr. Deborah Fegan, Dr. Nora Zabik, & Dr. Jon Souders

Who we are

Big Creek Pet is one of the oldest veterinary clinics in Cleveland. The original animal hospital was located on Bagley Road at Front Street in Berea. In approximately 1954 the veterinary hospital moved to Pearl and Bagley Roads in Middleburg Hts.

Penelope was a stray that we gave a home and she has taken over. She wanders throughout the hospital but most times you will see her near the front desk, waiting to greet you (or supervising the Front Desk team).

Our Services

What our clients say

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and once again thank you for helping us have so many years with Silkie.

Gary and Linda J.

Your recommendations for Lucy’s treatment have proved to be astonishingly effective!! We will see you in early January.

Charlie and Karen A.

We wish you a blessed Christmas & joyous New year! Thank you for all your care of our pets, and the gentle way of helping us through the ones we lost this past year. You all are blessed for the care you show all animals.

George & Juanita K.

It’s the kindness & caring of special people like you that makes coming to “Big Creek” a lovely experience. Thank you for your caring ways. We appreciate your kindness.

Lois & Bob C.

I want to thank everyone for the kind and compassionate care you gave to me, my family and our beloved Abbey. The decision I had to make was heart wrenching for me and my family. We loved our Abbey very much but knew it was time to say good-by. You all were so wonderful and sincere making the experience as humane as possible.

Tammy F.

I just wanted to thank each and everyone of you for taking care of our Little Toonces (aka “Toonsie Pants”) with such kind care and compassion. While her time with was far too short and we dearly miss her little fuzzy face and meows, we are so thankful all of you were there to guide us – Wee never felt we were alone thanks to all of you.

Audrey W.

Thank you for caring for Laptop, Shadow and Nellie throughout the years.

Christmas Blessings

Linda M.

Thanks for the great care of Nakoda & Jasper.

Happy Holidays!

P.S. Michelle, thanks for taking great care of Jasper, and sorry for the white scrubs!

Heather, Nakoda, & Jasper

We want to thank all of you for the care you have given Princess & Zoe this past year! All three Dr.’s have done so much for Princess this year. Esp. want to thank Dr. Souders for the extra time & calls was as we tried to get Princess back to good health. Susan for her grooming skills to be able to handle both of my sensitive girls! Charlotte for making sure Princess gets her food on time. Michelle & Gill for the time they took w/us & Princess when she was sick. And then all of the front desk girls always there to help on the phone & greet & handle all our needs. Esp. Kim F., Kim G., Jennifer, & Shelly. I know there are many more both front desk and in the back but we couldn’t have made it through all Princess has been through without all of you. Also Kim F. thanks for your extra help when Princess was sick. We are so lucky to have found you to care for our girls! Also thank-you for the picnic this summer – we really enjoyed!

Gary & Janet A.

Princess & Zoe

“Dr. Fegan has been our “go to” vet to pull our feline family out of the “fires” we have experienced. Today Elsie, Gracie and Wahoo are great friends and we hope to have all three for many more years with Dr. Fegan’s skilled and loving care.”

The Cermaks

Lakeside-Marblehead, OH

“Now, Dr. Fegan has our real firecracker, Cody. Cody is a two and a half year old Havanese and he has informed Dr. Fegan that she best be around his entire life a he only wants the best of care. As far as we are concerned, she is the only friend and vet for our family.”

The Clarks

Strongsville, OH

Latest News

Ticks are an annual challenge for pet parents. Every spring brings the risk of these pesky parasites finding a home on your furry friend, with mild winters making the problem show up even earlier. Thankfully, there are several ways to protect your pet from these pests. In fact, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) offers […]

Happy Holidays! 2016 – What a Year in “Believeland” — not only for our area, but also right here at Big Creek Pet Hospital! The Cavs won the NBA championship, the Monsters won the Calder Cup, and Stipe Miocic, a Cleveland area firefighter, won the Heavyweight MMA title. Plus our Tribe came so close to […]

Christmas is a fun time for the whole family, but there’s no denying that the holiday season can present some problems for pets. Here we run down twelve of the most common holiday hazards that your furry family member might encounter. Take care of these potential dangers early on so that everyone can have a […]

No-one wants to spend the summer months inside checking their furry family for fleas and ticks. Unfortunately, these pesky critters don’t take a summer break! The good news is that with an observant owner and the right medication, we can make sure that fleas take a permanent vacaction, far away from your furry family member! […]

While we treat dental disease in pets throughout, February is National Pet Dental Month and we like to make a special push to see as many smiling dogs and cats as we can! Last year at Big Creek, we identified that more than 40% of the pets we care for needed a dental cleaning. An […]

Here’s our pet-related take on a Christmas classic, courtesy of the creative minds at Big Creek Pet Hospital! Note: We will be closed on Friday 25th December, returning on 26th December for our regular Saturday opening hours. Have a safe and blessed Christmas.

Is your golden retriever pet slowing down because of age or something else? Why is my senior dog having so much trouble climbing the stairs? Won’t my older cat ever be able to jump up anymore? These may be signs that your senior pet is in pain. Come to the Pain Management for Senior Pets […]

There Are Alternatives to Pet Insurance In a previous post, we explained 3 Things You Should Know Before Buying Pet Insurance in Cleveland, Ohio. While we recommend pet insurance, sometimes you won’t be able to get pet insurance or pre-existing conditions limit your pet’s coverage. Pre-Existing Conditions are Not Covered It’s worth noting that some […]

Every year, hundreds of pets are euthanized in the Cleveland area because their owners don’t have pet insurance or know their options. With a little prior planning, pet insurance may have allowed our veterinary team to save their furry friend. Unfortunately, searching for Cleveland-area pet insurance can be confusing. With so many sources and different […]

Is your pet in pain? It’s a common question for pet parents who want the best for furry family members and, as your friendly neighborhood veterinarians in Cleveland, it’s our job to offer as many ways as possible to identify and manage the pain that your pets experience. The trouble is, our animals aren’t all […]

Grooming a cat is something that comes easier to pet parents when you start early in life. Kittens are social animals; they play with and imitate those around them. They also learn where their food comes from and how to keep themselves safe at a very early age. For instance, if the mother cat does […]

When we think of fun with dogs, it tends to be all of the outdoor activities you associate with summer: running around in the park, playing fetch, Frisbee, and perhaps jumping in every creek that you can find. No wonder kids love their canine companions so much! For some children, though, it’s the indoor activities […]

As our unpredictable Cleveland weather finally starts to creep into the high 80’s and pets start to get parched, what better time to review some crucial warm weather pointers for your furry family members? Some of these seem obvious, but summer can be a particularly hectic time and it’s always worth reminding everyone in your […]

1 in 3 cats and 1 in 5 dogs will be hit by kidney disease. If diagnosed and treated early enough your four-legged pet can enjoy a full life. Unfortunately, most tests didn’t tell us your pet had a problem until the kidneys were 2/3 or more destroyed, until now. Our testing laboratory, IDEXX has […]

Ensure Only Sun and Fun for Your Pets this Summer Cleveland has been getting a lot of rain recently. While it’s good for my lawn (when it’s not a swamp), the recent humid weather is also ideal for fleas, mosquitoes, ticks, and other creepy, crawly bugs. My dog Fagin has already had two ticks we […]

Starting on Thanksgiving and running through New Years Day 2015, enter your favorite four-legged family member in our 2014 Holiday Pet Picture Contest. Your pet’s picture should have a holiday theme (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukkah, or New Years). You can also you use one of the Holiday Pet Pix frames available on our app. We had […]

June 15, 2013 Day 9: On our second day tip we headed out to Bartolome and Santiago Island for a day of snorkeling with Sea Turtles, White tip reef sharks, Sting Rays, and penguins. After an hour of snorkeling we made our way up to the top of Bartolome Island to get a better view […]

June 17, 2013 and June 18, 2013 Day 11 and day 12: Saying goodbye to our two amazing instructors and this strange but amazing place called the Galapagos Islands was an extremely difficult thing to do, especially knowing we had 36 hours of travel ahead of us. Returning home was hard after this once in […]

June 16, 2013 Day 10: Our last full day on the Galapagos Islands was spent on a 3 hour boat ride out to Floreana Island for our last day tour. After touring the island and learning more about how Giant Tortoises live we were back in the freezing cold water snorkeling with Sea turtles. That […]

Are you looking for something fun to do with your kids while supporting an Awesome local charity that helps kids with disabilities? Then join us at the Stearns Bagley Kids Festival on Saturday July 18th from 10 am to Noon. It’s easy to get to! We’ll be at the corner of Stearns and Bagley in […]

June 14, 2013 Day 8: A very well deserved relaxation day at Tortuga Bay Beach was how we spent our Friday morning. We were given a few hours to whatever we wanted, a few people spent there time swimming in the crystal clear blue water, while others laid out on the beach or went snorkeling. […]

June 13, 2013 Day 7: We spent the day in Bellavista exploring a Lava Tube. Walking over extremely pointy cooled lava in complete darkness was quite an experience. We learned about two type’s basaltic lava, ‘pahoehoe’ and ‘aa’. ‘Pahoehoe’ is very smooth while ‘aa’ is very rough. Click on the Days below to learn more about […]

June 12, 2013 Day 6: Our group was lucky enough to be able to work with the Juvenile tortoises at the Charles Darwin Research Station. The tortoises we worked with were anywhere between two months and two years old. We took measurements of the juveniles using Largo curvo, Ancho curvo, and Largo plastron in cm […]

June 11, 2013 Day 5: Blackberries are an invasive species in Galapagos and cover most of the forests there, so to do our part we spent the day eradicating blackberries and cleaning up the forests. Blackberry bushes in Galapagos do not grow berries, but instead the vines grow thicker and farther in order to soak […]

June 10, 2013 Day 4: We traveled down the street to the highlands to collect Adult tortoise data with Galapagos National Park. We took measurements of the Largo curve (length), Anchor curve (width) , Largo plastron (length of underbelly) in cm, and then found the Peso (weight) of the tortoises in grams. Then a PIT […]

Coming in 2015 Here are some of the exciting things you will be able to take advantage of at Big Creek Pet Hospital in 2015: The Cleveland Cat Show – Saturday and Sunday, January 17th and 18th Dr. Fegan will present “The Sneezing Cat” “Outside the Box” (New and Improved) click here for more info Dental Special – […]

June 9, 2013 Day 3: Sunday was our first-day tour which involved traveling out to Seymour Island for hiking and snorkeling. On land we were able to see Prickly Pear Cactus, Land Iguanas, Marine Iguanas, Masked Boobies, and a group of Sea Lions at play, while in the water we swam with lots of different types […]

June 8, 2013 Day 2: After getting only 45 minutes of sleep after a full day of traveling, we had a full day ahead of us on Santa Cruz. After meeting our awesome EPI instructors Adrienne and Andres, we headed off the reserve we were staying on called Reserve Pesaro Bruno, and then went out […]

Starting on Thanksgiving and running through New Years Day 2015, enter your favorite four-legged family member in our 2014 Holiday Pet Picture Contest. Your pet’s picture should have a holiday theme (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukkah, or New Years). You can also you use one of the Holiday Pet Pix frames available on our app. We had […]

Dr. Fegan and Ed attended the Three Rivers Veterinary Conference in Pittsburgh in November. Dr. Souders and his wife, Anna, welcomed their first child, a son, Joshua, and the new family will soon move into their first home. Dr. Zabik and her family welcomed a new four-legged member, a Jack Russell Terrier named Cricket. Kaitlyn […]

Join Fagin and Team “Big Creek Pet Hospital” Saturday, May 24, 2014 as we walk with our canine family members at the Olmsted Falls “Bark for Life”. Gill Ross, RVT will be presenting a brief talk on “Cancer and Pets – A Brief Overview”. The American Cancer Society Bark For LifeTM is a noncompetitive walk event for […]

Here are some of the exciting things you will be able to take advantage of at Big Creek Pet Hospital in 2014: The Cleveland Cat Show: Saturday and Sunday, January 18th and 19th; Dr. Fegan will present “Your Mysterious Feline” and “ALL 9 Lives” (click here to get the notes) Yuck Dynasty – Dental Special, January 20th – March 21st […]

Thank you for your support over the past year and allowing us to care for your four-legged family members. We look forward to serving you in the coming years! We love our canine and pocket pet friends, but 2013 was the Year of the Cat at Big Creek. Each month we set up a special display including […]

Although your doctor may sometimes recommend aspirin for what ails you, please know that aspirin can be very toxic for cats.The wrong dose or accidental ingestion of aspirin or aspirin products can cause serious gastrointestinal, neurological, respiratory and bleeding problems.Cats cannot metabolize aspirin as quickly as dogs so they are more susceptible to the effects. And […]

by Deborah W. Fegan, DVM Cats are clean animals. It is normal for them to have a toilet area which is used regularly to contain their waste. They are generally tidy in this area and cover waste to reduce odors that could alert prey to their presence. Studies have shown that a cat enjoys their […]

Here are a variety of current veterinary topics for your information. 5/14/14 Heartworms and Fleas and Ticks…OH MY! Spring has sprung and life is demonstrating that it did not stop, it only took a rest. This has many positives like beautiful flowers and birds filling the air with song. It also means the return of parasites […]

Oh Cleveland weather, don’t you just love it. Wait a day and it will change. The most common problems our doctors have been seeing this summer include: Fleas – The pets we have found with fleas have been heavily infested and miserable. Please note, it takes about three months to get rid of them. Its […]

Updated 11/23/14 Dr. Deborah Fegan and Susan Reid First snowfall of the fall/winter season is upon us and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet! Typical Cleveland weather. Let’s hope that this winter isn’t as bad as last year. The temperature is dropping, but your concerns for your pet’s welfare during the winter season may be rising. It […]

By Deborah Fegan, DVM When I graduated from veterinary college many years ago, we did not study teeth in dogs and cats. I knew how many they had and when the adult teeth came in but little more. I hated the putrid smell coming from a yucky mouth. I thought that since their noses were […]

by Dr. Deborah Fegan Spring has sprung and life is demonstrating that it did not stop, it only took a rest. This has many positives like beautiful flowers and birds filling the air with song. It also means the return of parasites and the diseases they carry and spread – OH MY! Flea eggs (pupae) have been overwintering […]

2014 Community Contributor of the Year Besides for caring for thousands of cats, dogs, and pocket pets in 2014, the Big Creek Pet Hospital team was busy serving the community in a variety of ways. Maybe you helped out or were at one or more of the following events: Safety Town This past summer, Big Creek […]

Recommendations from Cleveland, OH Veterinarian Dr. Deborah Fegan June 1, 2015 My team and I continue to closely monitor the recent Canine Influenza outbreak (aka Dog Flu) that began earlier in Chicago. In last week’s update, I stated there was one confirmed dog flu case from Central Ohio. Since then, I am unaware of any […]

The canine influenza outbreak that originated in Chicago has confirmed cases in several other states, including one confirmed case in Newark, OH. We continue to closely monitoring this outbreak to keep you informed for your pets’ safety. At this time, however, we are unaware of any cases of Canine Influenza (or Dog Flu) in the […]

By Deborah W. Fegan, DVM – 6/19/13 Natura, the company that makes Evo, Innova and California Natural dog and cat foods has issued another voluntary recall. According to the US Food and Drug Administration, up to this point, there have been no people or animals reported sick from this recall or previous Natura Pet Food recalls. […]

Kaitlyn Kostyo, one of our super animal caretakers, just returned from a fantastic science trip to the Galapagos islands! Kaitlyn joined the Big Creek Pet Hospital team in 2012 expressly to raise money so she could go on this trip. Now she is planning on a career in veterinary medicine. Before leaving, we asked Kaitlyn to […]

Go All In with RevolutionTM By: Deborah Fegan, DVM It just snowed (again) last night and I am going to have to check Punxsutawney Phil for senility. Maybe we need to find our own predictor, Charlie Cleveland who can do a better job. But spring is here and with it the return of all those […]

by Dr. Deborah Fegan, DVM Kittens are social animals. They play with and imitate those around them. They learn where their food comes from and how to keep themselves safe at a very early age. For instance, if the mother cat does not teach her kittens how to hunt, they will starve. If mama does […]